Manipulating images

I love PhotoShop,granted i think you can ruin a great pic that way ,but also you can make a great improvement on a pic I love the way you can do so much with PS,i guess you just mess about with it and see what you like,i just use my imagination

I am new to this site but my thougts re: PS is that if it improves a picture why not use it, that or any other program.

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nittany(Rita)

I missed this one!! That is a wicked blend mate, well done!

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Paul

www.phrphotography.com

Photography is in the capture, all about subtracting form what you see in front of you, you make decisions about what to include and exclude. How much light to let hit the sensor, how long the exposure is and if you are like most people if you see litter in the foreground you’ll remove it. So why would you be against image editing? Painting on the other hand is an additive art form, where you start with nothing and add to it.

Photographic artists, should use any and all tools to achieve the image that they saw in their head when taking the picture. For me the argument that digital offers the ability to make to many changes is pure fantasy, in the days of film the photographer still had many choices and options, B&W or colour, the film speed, type of film, method of processing, cross process, dodge & burn, masking, multiple exposure, etc etc. Digital processing offers all these and more as it should due to technological advancement else we’d all still be making images by placing opaque objects on leather treated with silver nitrate! The only real differences are the lack o f chemicals, the addition of light and that the whole process is more accessible.

Alistair

Being a newbie to digital photography and not having any decent imaging software (yet) I sometimes wonder having looked at galleries on various sites that some pics are over cooked in photoshop. It just worries me that it takes away the skill of capturing a good shot in camera.
Don't get me wrong I will be getting the software soon and will be trying to produce better shots.

Steve

Steve, I totally agree that you do see some images that have had far to much
Photo Manipulation. But I think on the whole that most people including myself just use it to bring the image up to what you originally saw when taking the picture. Although you do need a good image with good composition to start with. You cannot make a good image out of a crap shot (I tried and gave up).

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Nikon User
Beacon Images

There is photography, and then there is creating a whole new image from various captures. I love photography as an art and accomplashing things "through the lens"

I do appreciate manipulated images, but also do agree that some images can be overmanipulated and ruin the whole project.

If you think about it (and I do mean this kindly) there are those who prefer pure photography, and there are those who prefer just to muck around with images. Personally I come between the two and like a mixture of both but not by going overboard.

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RGDS, MARK

If somebody taps you on the shoulder and your photo has been taken when you turn around, then you just been Spooked!

My website: Digital Creativity UK Currently Updating Site

New 'Creative Gallery' added to site

Flickr Link

I think you need to compare what the guys used to do in the Darkroom and what we can now do in the digital darkroom. I read a quote recently in a newspaper article that computers were made only for digital photography!! LOL
I use PS Lightroom and PS CS and shoot mainly in RAW so I will remove any spots etc that may spoil the image. For fun sometimes I will use various manipulations to achieve a different look.
Each to his own as long as you declare that you have manipulated the image no harm done in my view
Cheers Peter

depends on what you want to do the picture..

1. if its adding effects or editing like that, then i use CS2 to help improve shots and dont see a problem. some of my portraits i add a little movement blur to assist running around etc

2. if its to improve on any mistakes made whilst shooting, then i'd say get it right in camera first if at all possible. i can remember shooting on my 6x6 bronica and getting it wrong.. you learn quickly when clients dont like them too much!!

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Canon Forever

1Dmk2,10D, 20mm,28-70mm,200mm, Elinchrom3000,1500,600's,500's, Multiblitz200,Bronica SQb, expensive Manfrotto tripod

I use photoshop for cropping, exposure compensation and general tidying up for sharper, punchier images. Look around the internet for photoshop actions that automate these; makes life a whole lot easier!